MATT Salem shot the lights out en route to his career game for National University, but passed up on taking credit for his stellar showing.
Salem hit 26 points and shot 3-of-5 from three-point range as the Bulldogs came away with an 80-69 victory over University of the Philippines on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
However, Salem insisted his scorching output was due to his teammates finding him in rhythm and in the right spots all game.
“I wouldn’t play like that if it hadn’t been for my teammates,” said Salem. “Honestly, I have to give it to my teammates. They set me up in the right positions for me to be able to score.”
Salem actually sparked a late run by NU, scoring five in the Bulldogs’ 11-2 rally that turned a 59-57 game into a 70-59 contest. But he took no credit, as he lauded the NU guards for masterfully orchestrating the offense.
“The points didn’t come from me. It came from the guards creating and the guards attacking. It’s not me that did all that. My teammates played a big role,” said Salem.
He also bared that the team-first mindset will be the Bulldogs mantra all season in their bid for another champiionship.
“We don’t care who scores. As long as we stick together and stick to the system, in the end, we stay together. That’s our motto. We stick as a family,” Salem said.
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